Social Impact and Belonging

UW Health CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan and Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, Vice President and Chief Social Impact Officer, talk about UW Health values and our commitment to creating belonging for everyone.

Voluntary, employee-led employee resource groups (ERGs) foster a workplace of belonging aligned with our vision and goals. ERGs provide opportunities for all employees to network and pursue professional and personal development.

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UW Health in Wisconsin is proud to be designated a “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Leader” in the 2024 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). The HEI is created by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, one of the nation’s largest nonprofits committed to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals, allies and institutions. Three UW Health Hospitals in Madison, Wis. — University Hospital, American Family Children's Hospital and East Madison Hospital — all earned the coveted “Leader” designation. Our Gender Services Program is a key part of our comprehensive commitment to exceptional and affirming care.

HEI Award 2024

Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index

Leader in LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality designation

Because good communication is essential to high-quality, compassionate health care, UW Health offers a variety of language services to assist patients and families who are Limited English-Proficient and/or Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing at no cost.

A medical provider and an interpreter communicating with a patient in a hospital room

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Meet Rodolfo, one of our medical interpreters

At UW Health, we want our Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs to reflect the communities we serve. That’s why we make  social impact and belonging our top priorities. We’ve worked closely with residents, fellows, faculty and staff to develop best practices and trainings to ensure that our work, study, research and health care environments are welcoming and supportive to everyone. 

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Learning, policies and social impact tools

Our Community Relations, Population Health and Social Impact and Belonging Departments partner with community organizations to address barriers to healthy lives and support the work being done in our communities.

A UW Health donation check being presented to leaders at a Black Women's Wellness Day conference

Foundation for Black Women's Wellness 2019

Leading with trust in our giving philosophy

UW Health believes all people deserve quality healthcare. However, research suggests that non-clinical factors such as physical environment, social and economic factors and health behaviors impact patient outcomes more than the clinical care they receive. In order to truly improve the health of our patients and communities, our Social Impact and Belonging department works with our population health and community relations partners to build programs and services to address barriers to healthy lives.

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Addressing the social determinants of health

As part of the Healthy Dane Collaborative, UW Health’s Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) looks at the health of our community by using data and collecting community input. We examine community health from a big-picture view and consider risk factors, quality of life, mortality, morbidity, access to health care and more. We are actively and intentionally working to improve health outcomes for all our communities through internal and external initiatives.

A man wearing a mask, receiving a vaccination

Jampa Gagyanpontsang receives his COVID-19 vaccination shot from UW Health's Sarah Turlan while UW Health Chief Executive Officer looks on during a visit to UW Health's Arboretum Clinic Thursday, April 8, 2021.

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As an Accountable Care Organization, UW Health and its partners are committed to putting you at the center of care, keeping you informed and honoring your choices, customs and beliefs. We work to better coordinate your care whether you are in the primary care office, seeing a specialist, admitted to the hospital or at home.

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UW Health supports transgender, gender expansive and non-binary patients by not only providing evidence based clinical care, but also by partnering with associations and community partners to ensure each patient’s journey balances the physical, psychological and emotional needs to live a happy and full life.

A sign representing equality between male, female and transgender

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An illustration of a tree with different color hands replacing leaves

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Our vision is to be a health system that creates belonging for everyone. We strive to be an organization that engages in social impact work that centers our values and purpose.

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